I think some of it varies with the style of riding. If your style involves short stirrups, you'll probably come farther out of the saddle than with deep stirrups. Thus my 13 year old daughter comes way out of the saddle, while my goal is enough motion to take weight off the saddle but not enough to create a gap.

The horse pushes you up, and I find it is more of a forward/down motion. The horse pushes you up while you move your hips forward, and the horse's motion brings him back under you as you come down gently (hopefully).

But I'm a pretty green rider, so take that with a big grain of salt. A bucket, perhaps...

It feels a little bit like being on a swing. Your pelvis goes forward and up, then down and back. Hores lifts you , you carry your own weight and touch down lightly. In order to post well, you must really have your heels in line with your hips and shoulders. It takes time to learn how to post and feel the rythm, so don't worry if you don't have ti just yet, but if your saddle is not the right size for you, if it not balanced correctly for the horse's back, or if by its' design, it makes it impossible for you to keep your heels under you, you will find it hard to lift yourself up with ease and with the horse's rythm. YOu will always be BEHIND his rythm , both going up (whence you will use the reins to lever yourself up) and coming down, (whence you will be bumping his back , 'cause though you are going down, he is now coming back up, 'casuse he is ahead of you in the rythm.

Once you get it, posting is very easy, or should be. There are times and horses that make it harder than others. Some horses are just harder to stay in rythm with (like they changes constantly) or others , whose stride is just too big to eaisly follow, or others who have no push from behind , so give you nothing to post off of.
If you would like to have someone video you posting, it would be very helpful to make a more accurate and constructive critique.

The motion is a back and forwards motion. As tiny said (I think - just skinner her post - sorry tiny!), an up and down motion will leave you behind the movement and you will clunk down on the horse's back at every stride.

For what should move, well the main moving point will be your pelvis. Your upper body shoulder remain dead still, your arms and hands should remain dead still relative to the horse. The pelvis is simply 'bumped' out of the saddle by the horse's movement, which means you should just be coming out of the saddle by a couple of centimetres max, by allowing the pelvis to be pushed lightly forward towards the horse's poll, and gently come back into contact with the saddle at each stride.

Your lower leg moves very slightly. There should be no back and forth motion (swinging of the lower leg), but an 'in/out' motion. As you ride, you lower leg straightens and more weight is placed in your stirrup. Thus the lower leg is 'out' or off the horse's sides. As you sit, the lower leg closes on the horse's side, encouraging the hind legs to step forward and under. Hence the 'in' phase.

Watch that your hands stay still relative to the horse, not your body. A common error is to 'attach' your elbows/hands to your pelvis, so that to go forward and back with the pelvis movement. This creates a 'loop' in the rein at every other stride, knocking the horse in the mouth, which will lead to evasion and resistance. Allow your elbows to hang by your sides, and carry your hands just above the wither, in front of the saddle with a fists's gap between them. As you rise, watch your hands occasionally (looking down isn't a desired habit, but this will be beneficial in this case). Do they remain exactly where they are, just in front of the saddle, or do they move around? If they move around, hook your pinky fingers under the saddle cloth while you rise. This is show you how much movement you are making with your hands, and will train them to remain still.

I can't give you more advice that has already been posted. It just takes time and practice..It took me FOREVER to be able to tell which diagonal I was on and if I was right..Once you have it though it's like riding a bike. It just works and you won't lose it..

Ref the video I posted: I don't think there is any reason to come that far out of the saddle. The higher you go up, the farther you have to come down, and the easier it is to come down hard - which defeats the purpose of posting. My 13 year old daughter posts like the video, and it drives me nuts. And of course, she isn't about to listen to Dad...

I'd post a video of someone posting without looking like a jack-in-the-box, but I can't find any...so it may be a very personal pet peeve.

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